Shadowing Practice: Cambridge 14 Test 1 - Learn English Speaking with Video

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291 sentences

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that has been done for you.

On this occasion only, the conversation relating to this will be played first.

Good morning.

What can I do for you?

I want to report a theft.

I had some things stolen out of my bag yesterday.

I'm sorry to hear that.

Right, so I'll need to take a few details.

Can I start with your name?

Louise Taylor.

The woman's name is Louise Taylor, so Taylor has been written in the space.

Now we shall begin.

You should answer the questions as you listen, because you will not hear the recording a second time.

Listen carefully and answer questions 1 to 3.

Good morning.

What can I do for you?

I want to report a theft.

I had some things stolen out of my bag yesterday.

I'm sorry to hear that.

Right, so I'll need to take a few details.

Can I start with your name?

Louise Taylor.

Okay, thank you.

And are you resident in the UK?

No, I'm actually Canadian, though my mother was British.

And your date of birth?

December 14th, 1977.

So you're just visiting this country.

That's right.

I come over most summers on business.

I'm an interior designer, and I come over to buy old furniture.

Antiques, you know?

There are some really lovely things around here, but you need to get out to the small towns.

I've had a really good trip this year, until this happened.

Okay.

So you've been here quite a while?

Yes.

I'm here for two months.

I go back next week.

So, may I ask where you're staying now?

Well, at present, I've got a place at Park Apartments that's on King Street.

I was staying at the Riverside Apartments on the same street, but the apartment there was only available for six weeks, so I had to find another one.

Okay.

And the apartment number?

Fifteen.

Right.

Okay.

Before you hear the rest of the conversation, you have some time to look at questions 4 to 10.

Now listen and answer questions 4 to 10.

Now, I need to take some details of the theft.

So, you said you had some things stolen out of your bag?

That's right.

And were you actually carrying the bag when the theft took place?

Yes.

I really can't understand it.

I had my backpack on, and I went into a supermarket to buy a few things, and when I opened it up, my wallet wasn't there.

And what did your wallet have in it?

Well, fortunately, I don't keep my credit cards in that wallet.

I keep them with my passport in an inside compartment in my backpack, but there was quite a bit of cash there,

about 250 pounds sterling, I should think.

I withdrew 300 pounds from my account yesterday, but I did a bit of shopping, so I must have already spent about 50 pounds of that.

Okay.

At first I thought, oh, I must have left the wallet back in the apartment, but then I realized my phone had gone as well.

It was only a week old, and that's when I realized I'd been robbed.

Anyway, at least they didn't take the keys to my rental car.

Yes.

So you say the theft occurred yesterday?

Yes.

So that was September the 10th?

And do you have any idea at all of where or when the things might possibly have been stolen?

Well, at first I couldn't believe it

because the bag had been on my back ever since I left the apartment after lunch.

It's just a small backpack, but I generally use it when I'm traveling because it seems safer than a handbag.

Anyway, I met up with a friend, and we spent a couple of hours in the museum.

But I do remember that as we were leaving there, at about four o'clock, a group of young boys ran up to us,

and they were really crowding round us, and they were asking us what time it was, then all of a sudden, they ran off.

Can you remember anything about them?

The one who did most of the talking was wearing a t-shirt with a picture of something.

Uh, let's see.

A tiger.

Right.

Any idea of how old he might have been?

Around twelve years old.

And can you remember anything else about his appearance?

Not much.

He was quite thin.

Color of hair?

I do remember that.

He was blonde.

All the others were dark-haired.

And any details of the others?

Not really.

They came and went so quickly.

Right.

So, what I'm going to do now is give you a crime reference number so you can contact your insurance company.

So, this is ten digits.

8795482361. Thank you.

So, should I contact...

That is the end of section 1.

100

You now have half a minute to check your answers.

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Now turn to section two.

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Section two.

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You will hear a manager giving a welcome talk to a group of apprentices who are starting their training at the company.

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First, you have some time to look at questions 11 to 14.

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Now listen carefully and answer questions 11 to 14.

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Good morning, everyone.

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My name's Janet Parker, and I'm the Human Resources Manager.

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We're very happy to welcome you to your new apprenticeship.

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I hope that the next six months will be a positive and enjoyable experience for you.

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I'd like to start with some general advice about being an apprentice.

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Most of you have very little or no experience of working for a big organisation, and the first week or so may be quite challenging.

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There will be a lot of new information to take in, but don't worry too much about trying to remember everything.

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The important thing is to check with someone if you're not sure what to do.

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You'll find your supervisor is very approachable and won't mind explaining things or helping you out You're here to learn,

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so make the most of

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that opportunity You'll be spending time in different departments during your first week

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So make an effort to talk to as many people as possible about their work You'll make some new friends

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and find out lots of useful information As well as having a supervisor, you'll each be assigned a mentor.

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This person will be someone who's recently completed an apprenticeship, and you'll meet with them on a weekly basis.

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Their role is to provide help and support throughout your apprenticeship.

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Of course, this doesn't mean they'll actually do any of your work for you.

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Instead, they'll be asking you about what goals you've achieved so far, as well as helping you to identify any areas for improvement.

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You can also discuss your more long-term ambitions with them as well.

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Before you hear the rest of the talk, you have some time to look at questions 15 to 20.

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Thank you.

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Now, I just want to run through a few company policies for our apprenticeship scheme with you.

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Most importantly, the internet.

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As part of your job, you'll be doing some research online, so obviously you'll have unlimited access for that.

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But please don't use it for personal use.

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You'll have your own phones for that.

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Some of you have already asked me about flexible working.

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After your probationary three-month period, some of you will be eligible for this,

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but it will depend on which department you're in and what your personal circumstances are,

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so please don't assume you'll automatically be permitted to do this.

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I want to make sure there's no confusion about our holiday policy.

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Apart from any statutory public holidays, we ask that you don't book any holidays until after your six-month apprenticeship has finished.

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Time off should only be taken if you are unwell.

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Please speak to your supervisor if this is going to be a problem.

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You'll be expected to work a 40-hour week, but there may be opportunities to do overtime during busy periods.

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Although you're not required to do this, it can be a valuable experience, so we advise you to take it up if possible.

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Obviously, we understand that people do have commitments outside work, so don't worry if there are times when you are unavailable.

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As you know, we don't have a formal dress code here.

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You may wear casual clothes as long as they are practical,

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and the only restriction for shoes we have is on high heels for health and safety reasons.

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Comfortable shoes like trainers are preferable.

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There's a heavily subsidised canteen on site where you can get hot meals or salads cheaply.

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Snacks and drinks are also provided, so we've decided to introduce a no-packed lunch policy.

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This is partly to encourage healthy eating at work and partly to stop people from eating at their workstation,

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which is unhygienic.

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OK, moving on to...

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That is the end of section 2.

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You now have half a minute to check your answers.

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Now turn to section 3.

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Section 3.

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You will hear two urban planning students, called Carla and Rob, discussing their presentation on cities built by the sea,

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following instructions from their tutor.

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First, you have some time to look at questions 21 to 25.

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Thank you.

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Now listen carefully and answer questions 21 to 25.

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Okay, so what I'd like you to do now is to talk to your partner about your presentations on urban planning.

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You should have done most of the reading now, so I'd like you to share your ideas

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and talk about the structure of your presentation and what you need to do next.

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OK, Rob, I'm glad we chose quite a specific topic, cities built next to the sea.

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It made it much easier to find relevant information.

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Yeah, and cities are growing so quickly.

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I mean, we know that more than half the world's population lives in cities now.

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Yeah, though that's all cities, not just ones on the coast.

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But most of the biggest cities are actually built by the sea.

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I'd not realised that before. Nor me.

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And what's more, a lot of them are built at places where rivers come out into the sea.

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But apparently this can be a problem.

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Why?

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Well, as the city expands, agriculture and industry tend to spread further inland along the rivers.

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And so agriculture moves even further inland up the river.

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That's not necessarily a problem, except it means more and more pollutants are discharged into the rivers.

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So, these are brought downstream to the cities?

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Right.

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Did you read that article about Miami on the east coast of the USA?

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No. Well, apparently back in the 1950s, they built channels to drain away the water in case of flooding.

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Sounds sensible?

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Yeah, they spent quite a lot of money on them, but what they didn't take into account was global warming.

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So they built the drainage channels too close to sea level, and now sea levels are rising, they're more or less useless.

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If there's a lot of rain, the water can't run away, there's nowhere for it to go.

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The whole design was faulty.

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So what are the authorities doing about it now?

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I don't know.

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I did read that they're aiming to stop disposing of waste water into the ocean over the next ten years.

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But that won't help with flood prevention now, will it?

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No, really, they just need to find the money for something to replace the drainage channels in order to protect against flooding now.

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But in the long term, they need to consider the whole ecosystem.

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Right.

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Really, though, coastal cities can't deal with their problems on their own, can they?

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I mean, they've got to start acting together at an international level instead of just doing their own thing.

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Absolutely.

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The thing is, everyone knows what the problems are, and environmentalists have a pretty good idea of what we should be doing about them, so they should be able to work together to some extent.

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But it's going to be a long time before countries come to a decision on what principles they're prepared to abide by.

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Yeah, if they ever do.

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Before you hear the rest of the discussion, you have some time to look at questions 26 to 30.

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Now listen and answer questions 26 to 30.

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So, I think we've probably got enough for our presentation.

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It's only 15 minutes.

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OK, so I suppose we'll begin with some general historical background about why coastal cities were established.

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But we don't want to spend too long on that.

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The other students will already know a bit about it.

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It's all to do with communications and so on.

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Yes.

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We should mention some geographical factors, things like wetlands and river estuaries and coastal erosion and so on.

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We could have some maps of different cities with these features marked.

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On a handout, you mean?

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Or some slides everyone can see?

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Yeah, that'd be better.

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It'd be good to go into past mistakes in a bit more detail.

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Did you read that case study of the problems there were in New Orleans with flooding a few years ago?

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Yes, we could use that as the basis for that part of the talk.

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I don't think the other students will have read it, but they'll remember hearing about the flooding at the time.

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Hmm, OK.

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So that's probably enough background.

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So, then we'll go on to talk about what action's been taken to deal with the problems of coastal cities.

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OK.

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What else do we need to talk about?

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Maybe something on future risks, looking more at the long term if populations continue to grow?

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Yeah.

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We'll need to do a bit of work there.

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I haven't got much information, have you?

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No, we'll need to look at some websites.

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Shouldn't take too long.

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OK.

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And I think we should end by talking about international implications.

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Maybe we could ask people in the audience.

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We've got people from quite a lot of different places.

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That'd be interesting if we have time, yes.

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So now, should we go on...

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That is the end of Section 3.

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You now have half a minute to check your answers.

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Thank you.

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You will hear part of a lecture on renewable energy that uses the power of the sea.

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First, you have some time to look at questions 31 to 40.

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Thank you.

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Now listen carefully and answer questions 31 to 40.

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Producing enough energy to meet our needs has become a serious problem.

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Demand is rising rapidly because of the world's increasing population and expanding industry.

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Burning fossil fuels, like gas, coal and oil, seriously damages the environment, and they'll eventually run out.

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For a number of years now, scientists have been working out how we can derive energy from renewable sources,

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such as the sun and wind, without causing pollution.

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Today, I'll outline marine renewable energy, also called ocean energy, which harnesses the movement of the oceans.

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Marine renewable energy can be divided into three main categories.

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Wave energy, tidal energy, and ocean thermal energy conversion.

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And I'll say a few words about each one.

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First, wave energy Numerous devices have been invented to harvest wave energy with names such as Wave Dragon,

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the Penguin, and Mighty Whale

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and research is going on to try

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and come up with a really efficient method This form of

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energy has plenty of potential as the source is constant and there's no danger of waves coming to a standstill

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Electricity can be generated using onshore systems,

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using a reservoir or offshore systems But the problem with ocean waves is that they're erratic,

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with the wind making them travel in every direction This adds to the difficulty of creating efficient technology Ideally,

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all the waves would travel smoothly and regularly along the same straight line.

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Another drawback is that sand and other sediment on the ocean floor might be stopped from flowing normally,

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which can lead to environmental problems.

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The second category of marine energy that I'll mention is tidal energy.

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One major advantage of using the tide, rather than waves as a source of energy, is that it's predictable.

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We know the exact times of high and low tides for years to come.

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For tidal energy to be effective, the difference between high and low tides needs to be at least 5 metres.

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And this occurs naturally in only about 40 places on Earth.

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But the right conditions can be created by constructing a tidal lagoon, an area of seawater separated from the sea.

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One current plan is to create a tidal lagoon on the coast of Wales.

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This will be an area of water within a bay at Swansea, sheltered by a U-shaped breakwater, or dam, built out from the coast.

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The breakwater will contain 16 hydro turbines, and as the tide rises, water rushes through the breakwater,

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activating the turbines, which turn a generator to produce electricity.

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Then, for three hours as the tide goes out, the water is held back within the breakwater,

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increasing the difference in water level until it's several metres higher within the lagoon than in the open sea.

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Then, in order to release the stored water, gates in the breakwater are opened.

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It pours powerfully out of the lagoon,

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driving the turbines in the breakwater in the opposite direction and again generating thousands of megawatts of electricity.

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As there are two high tides a day, this lagoon scheme would generate electricity four times a day,

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every day, for a total of around 14 hours in every 24,

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and enough electricity for over 150,000 homes.

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This system has quite a lot in its favour.

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Unlike solar and wind energy, it doesn't depend on the weather.

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The turbines are operated without the need for fuel, so it doesn't create any greenhouse gas emissions, and very little maintenance is needed.

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It's estimated that electricity generated in this way will be relatively cheap,

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and that manufacturing the components would create more than 2,000 jobs, a big boost to the local economy.

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On the other hand, there are fears that lagoons might harm both fish and birds,

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for example by disturbing migration patterns and causing a buildup of silt, affecting local ecosystems.

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There are other forms of tidal energy, but I'll go on to the third category of marine ocean thermal energy conversion.

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This depends on there being a big difference in temperature

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between surface water and the water a couple of kilometres below the surface, and this occurs in tropical coastal areas.

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The idea is to bring cold water up to the surface using a submerged pipe.

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The concept dates back to 1881, when...

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That is the end of section 4.

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You now have half a minute to check your answers.

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Real-Life English in Action: Reporting a Theft

The video’s dialogue captures a common real-world scenario: a person reporting a theft to authorities. This interaction is packed with practical language for everyday situations—from sharing personal details to explaining a problem. Notice how Louise Taylor answers questions clearly, using phrases like “I had some things stolen out of my bag” and “I come over most summers on business.” These natural expressions are key to sounding confident in English, whether you’re traveling, working, or handling unexpected issues.

Useful Chunks & Collocations to Memorize

“report a theft” – A critical phrase for emergencies or unexpected incidents.
“resident in the UK” – A common way to ask about someone’s living status (replace “UK” with any country).
“on business” – Perfect for explaining travel purposes, e.g., “I’m here on business.”
“available for six weeks” – Useful for talking about rental agreements, bookings, or time frames.
“take some details” – What someone says when they need to record information, like a police officer or customer service rep.

These chunks work because they’re how native speakers actually talk—no need for complicated sentences. Practice saying them out loud to build fluency.

Your Shadowing Challenge: Master the Rhythm

Shadowing (or “shadowspeak”) is a proven way to improve English pronunciation and fluency. Here’s your task: Play the first 30 seconds of the dialogue (where Louise reports the theft) and repeat each line immediately after the speaker, matching their tone, speed, and stress. Focus on phrases like “I want to report a theft” and “I’m actually Canadian, though my mother was British.” If you’re new to shadowing, try a shadowing app to slow down the audio. Do this 5 times, then record yourself. Notice how closely you match the original—this is how you train your mouth and brain to speak like a native. Ready to start? Hit play and let shadowspeak transform your pronunciation!

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	has been done · has been written · I've had
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	has been done · will be played · has been written

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

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